How To Apply Growth Hacking Tactics To Your Next Feature Film (Or Short)

In the startup world, growth hacking tactics are often used to supercharge the rate at which a business or its product offerings can scale. But could these same tactics also be applied to filmmaking? I believe so. Since this article is geared toward filmmakers, I’ll speak to growth hacking primarily in the context of product development. Every...

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PODCAST: Why Every Filmmaker Needs To Build An Audience & How You Can Start Today

Filmmakers who have audiences of their own are at a tremendous advantage at every stage. From fundraising to distribution to monetization – each facet is enhanced dramatically by the size and value of a given audience. While the prospect of building an audience yourself can be daunting, the good news is it’s easier than ever to accomplish… Even...

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How To Pick The Perfect Aspect Ratio For Your Next Film Or Video Project

One of the greatest stylistic tools that filmmakers have at their disposal is undoubtably the aspect ratio. But with so many available to you, it’s critical to understand how and when to use each available format. Up until somewhat recently, aspect ratios were fairly standardized. For decades TV was broadcast exclusively in 1.33:1 (later becoming...

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PODCAST: From PA’ing For Martin Scorsese To Directing Million Dollar Feature Films With Director & Producer Joseph Mensch

Today on the show, I’m joined by director/producer Joseph Mensch, here to talk about his new feature film Payback, which was just released last month. Throughout the interview, Joseph shares his journey from PA’ing on Martin Scorsese’s Aviator to directing a debut feature film with a budget in the millions. He also shares some critical insights...

Mar 2021

How I Built a 7 Figure Production Company With No Advertising

I don’t talk about this often, but one my greatest assets as a filmmaker is my commercial production company (Creative Rebellion), which was launched over a decade ago.Through this company, I’ve been able to work with some amazing clients like Google and NBC/Universal, while over time generating millions of dollars in revenue and funding my passion...

Mar 2021

Why NFTs Will Become The Great Next Revenue Stream For Filmmakers

There’s been a ton of buzz lately around NFTs (non-fungible tokens), especially in the art world and music industry… But will the technology ultimately impact the film industry? My assumption is YES. If you haven’t heard of NFTs before, here’s an explanation from Peter Yang’s blog: “A non-fungible token is a record that shows who owns...

Mar 2021

How To Raise $10,000 – $100,000 For Your Micro-Budget Independent Feature Film

So you want to make a movie, but don’t know how you’re going to pay for it. Welcome to the club! It’s an issue all filmmakers wrestle with, but that doesn’t mean you can’t pull it off – even as a first time filmmaker with no industry connections. In this article, I want to share some strategies for raising funds for your next (and possibly first)...

Mar 2021

Check Out My $0 Short Film “DOPAMINE” Shot On Ultra 16mm Film

Nearly a year ago I modified my Arri SRII film camera to Ultra 16mm, and set out to take some test shots with it. Instead of just capturing random images, I figured why not set up a little short film to see how the camera would perform on a “real” set. As I wrote about in this article, the shoot was super unconventional and took place over just...

Feb 2021

Do Filmmakers Need To Use Social Media Or Build An Online Presence To Get Ahead?

Love it or hate it, social media is becoming an increasingly important tool for working filmmakers. But is having an online presence really that critical to your overall success? It depends entirely on your path of course, and no two filmmakers ever succeed via the exact same means. There are filmmakers out there who don’t have any sort...

Feb 2021

PODCAST: Luke Barnett, Writer/Producer of FAITH BASED on Creating Original Content, Landing Star Talent, & Raising Money For Your Movie

Joining me on today’s episode is writer/producer/actor Luke Barnett, known for his incredible Funny or Die shorts and his latest feature film project – Faith Based, which features Jason Alexander, Lance Reddick, Tanner Thomason, Margaret Cho, and Luke Barnett himself. Luke’s story is super inspiring, and can be looked at as a roadmap for filmmakers...

Feb 2021